E Mixolydian
The E Mixolydian mode — E F# G# A B C# D — shown across the guitar neck.
Tap any note on the neck.
Swipe the neck sideways to see the higher frets.
E Mixolydian is the major scale with one note changed — the b7, D. That single note is what gives the mode its sound: lean on it and the colour is obvious. Leave it out and the melody alone could pass for plain major — then it is the chords underneath that keep the mode.
What is E Mixolydian?
E Mixolydian is the seven notes E F# G# A B C# D — the notes of A major started from its 5th degree, E. Same seven notes as the parent, but with E as home, so the intervals and the sound are different.
E Mixolydian vs E major
6 of the seven notes are the same. The difference is one note, and that is the whole character of the mode:
- b7 is D in Mixolydian, where E major has 7, D#.
Play E major and E Mixolydian back to back over a E chord and listen for D — that is the note to lean on.
Chords in E Mixolydian
Stack the mode in thirds and each degree becomes a chord. The home chord is E; the rest are the chords of A major, since the notes are the same — what changes is which one the music rests on. Vamp between E and D and the mode is unmistakable.
E Mixolydian on the guitar neck
Because E Mixolydian is A major from its 5th note, its natural fingering is position 5 of the seven three-notes-per-string shapes of A major — the shape whose lowest note is E. Learn that shape with E as home — start and end on it, over a drone on E or the vamp above — and you have the mode under your fingers. Play the same shape with A as home and you hear A major instead. The other six positions are the fingerings for the other six modes of the same key.
How to practice E Mixolydian on guitar
- Loop position 5 of A major at 60 BPM, starting and ending on E so your ear hears E as home rather than A.
- Hold a E chord (or record one) and play the shape over it. Land on D on the strong beats — that is the sound of Mixolydian.
- Hear it harmonized in 3rds on the Fretboard: press Play and every note sounds with its partner while the neck lights up.
The tool draws E Mixolydian from its own root: the orange dots are on E and the degrees count from it. The notes are its parent key's, A major; to hear Mixolydian, start and end on E.
Find out what you should learn next. Five questions and Guitar Theory Studio builds you a four-week plan through the fretboard, chords, scales, arpeggios and ear training — week one free.
Build my free plan →